It has been the goal of prior art devices to produce a utility cart which efficiently and conveniently will hold in a readily accessible position all implements or tools required in a janitorial or cleaning person's job. However, because of the varying natures in the janitorial or cleaning job environment, the cart must be flexible enough to be readily adapted to a particular job environment. In addition, the utility cart must be of durable construction which is impervious to harsh and caustic chemicals generally used in cleaning operations.
Prior art devices have generally met the durability requirement for a utility cart by constructing the apparatus out of heavy duty steel tubular members. The tubular members are generally welded or clamped together. Some examples of these prior art devices include H. J. Barnett, U.S. Pat. No. 2,424,644; Webber, U.S. Pat. No. 2,596,749; Walling, U.S. Pat. No. 2,311,422; and Scudder, U.S. Pat. No. DES 115,352; and Mayo, U.S. Pat. No. 3,874,531. The increased weight, because of the use of steel in these utility carts, requires a heavy duty axle and wheel assembly, substantially increasing the cost of the unit, or may even require a motorized vehicle to transport the cart as taught by Mayo, U.S. Pat. No. 3,874,531. In addition, the use of these heavy materials creates unnecessary fatigue on the cleaning personnel who are the ultimate users of these carts due to the extra effort required to push the heavy utility cart around. A further disadvantage of the use of steel construction is that it readily yields to the corrosive properties of cleaning materials which will inevitably get spilled or otherwise come into contact with the parts of the utility carts. In addition, steel is not waterproof and easily corrodes when exposed to the elements increasing the necessary maintenance such as painting and other types of protection of the cart.
In addition, the prior art devices either do not efficiently use cart space, or in the alternative do not provide sufficient cart space for all of the required cleaning utensils. These devices also are inflexible and cannot be customized to the particular needs of a final user.